10 common English proverbs you should know

hi I'm Lisa let's learn 10 common English proverbs understanding English proverbs will help you to understand native speakers and using proverbs will help you sound more fluent when you're speaking English we will also learn the pronunciation of some difficult English sounds and we will practice the American accent what are Proverbs proverbs are short sentences that generally contain wisdom or advice or some kind of warning expressions that teach us something often we remember our grandparents using proverbs and proverbs get passed down through generations these are wise words of advice about how to live our lives I will teach you 10 English proverbs that all native speakers know and use why should you learn English proverbs understanding the proverbs of a specific culture will help you to understand how the people in that culture think and how they view the world and what their values are also knowing proverbs will help you to understand native speakers better native speakers use proverbs regularly the first proverb is don't count your chickens before they hatch and to hatch means to come out of an egg and I think that one is pretty logical you probably know what that means right it means don't make a plan to do something until something happens because we don't know for sure that it's going to happen wait until you have something and then you can plan what to do next what's interesting to me about proverbs is that other languages have a similar proverb that means the same thing for example there's the same proverb in French but it doesn't talk about chicken and hatching eggs it talks about a bear and the bear skin in France they say don't sell the bearskin before killing the bear it means the same thing is there a similar proverb in your language let me know in the comments below I find that so interesting that we have similar proverbs but they're expressed using different examples let's use this proverb in a sentence I will buy a new car when I get the bonus money next month don't count your chickens until they hatch you don't know for sure that you're gonna get the money the next proverb is actions speak louder than words first let's pronounce word correctly that's a difficult word to say the W and the O sounds can be difficult to pronounce we don't say ward we say word don't round your lips for the O it's not oh it's a the sound changes let's say that words words now let's say the whole proverb actions speak louder than words and you notice how I connected the two S's I didn't say actions speak I combine them and it sounded almost like singular actions speak let's say that again actions speak louder than words and that means what you do is more important than what you say don't tell me you're going to do it don't talk about it do it I promise I will finish it by Friday that's what you said last week actions speak louder than words the next expression is the early bird gets the worm with the previous proverb I taught you how to pronounce the word word this expression has three words that have exactly the same sound early we don't say early it's her early bird Wurm so the words word and worm are pronounced almost the same only the last letter is different let's say those three words again with the earth sound early bird worm and now let's say the proverb the early bird gets the worm if you wake up early or if you do something early before everybody else you will be successful you will get what you want let's arrive early to get the best seats the early bird gets the worm if you want to be successful you need to get up early the early bird gets the worm the next expression is the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence and that means when someone else has something it always looks better than what we have people tend to want what they don't have other people's lives look better than ours I would be much happier if I had a job like yours don't be so sure the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence and by the way sometimes people just say the grass is always greener on the other side they don't necessarily say the whole thing the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence do you have a similar proverb in your language let me know in the comments the next proverb is don't put all your eggs in one basket let's say that naturally don't put all your eggs in one basket let's connect the words put all your eggs put all your eggs put all your eggs don't put all your eggs in one basket and that means don't put all your effort in all your resources in one place that's taking a big risk if something doesn't work out you lose everything don't put all your eggs in one a skit you should apply for several jobs rather than just one don't put all your eggs in one basket I invested in several different stocks I didn't want to put all my eggs in one basket the next proverb is you can't judge a book by its cover or don't judge a book by its cover maybe the outside of a book is beautiful but maybe the book is not very good so don't judge something by the outside appearance things sometimes look different than they really are he doesn't look very smart don't judge a book by it's cover he has a PhD in physics that Hotel looks beautiful from the outside but it's old and not well maintained you can't judge a book by it's cover the next expression is the apple doesn't fall far from the tree this expression has some words with long vowels let's practice those vowels let's say an apple open your mouth and the Apple the Apple and then fall open your mouth again aw in British English it's more like full but in American English it's a much bigger vowel fall and then far open your mouth again ah far and tree it's a long vowel tree let's say that slowly first and then after that more quickly the apple doesn't fall far from the tree you say it now let's say it faster and more naturally the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and that means a child has similar qualities or a similar character to his or her parents that young politician is corrupt and dishonest his father was the same the apple doesn't fall far from the tree you are as talented as your father the apple doesn't fall far from the tree usually this expression is used in a negative way but sometimes it's used in a positive way to the next expression is a leopard doesn't change its spots and pay attention to the way I pronounced leopard that II oh we don't say lair part we say leopard leopard a leopard doesn't change its spots we also say a tiger doesn't change its stripes a leopard has spots but a tiger has stripes what does that mean a leopard doesn't change its spots it means a person's character doesn't change if they are a bad person maybe they will pretend to be a good person but they're still bad because a leopard doesn't change its spots but their true nature doesn't change he apologized for lying to me be careful I wouldn't trust him again a leopard doesn't change its spots the next expression is strike while the iron is hot let's look at the pronunciation of the word iron that's a commonly mispronounced word a lot of my students say something like this I own that Oh should be reduced it sounds like this I earn iron let's say that quickly iron we iron our clothes or iron is a kind of metal let's say the proverb again strike while the iron is hot and that means you should take advantage of a good opportunity or a good situation while you can before it changes you need to take action now don't wait we need to strike while the iron is hot and invest in that stock the value will soon increase and the next one is don't bite the hand that feeds you and that means if someone is paying you or helping you you must be careful not to make them angry or not to hurt them don't say anything bad about them I want to tell my boss why I'm so angry be careful don't bite the hand that feeds you try to use these proverbs in different situations when you're speaking English and if you haven't subscribed to this channel make sure that you do and click on the notification bell so that you can get notified when I post my next video thanks for watching and keep practicing your English to learn all of the rules for a good American accent you can buy my online video courses at accurate English calm [Music] [Laughter] [Music]

Channel: AccurateEnglish

Views: 690,608

Rating: 4.9082222 out of 5

Keywords: american accent, pronunciation, english proverbs, proverbs, fluent english, understand native speakers, understand american culture, speak fluent, american english, sayings, idioms, idiomatic expressions, don't count your chickens, the grass is greener, don't bite the hand that feeds you, esl, toefl, lisa mojsin, accurate english, how to speak fluent english, mastering the american accent, tiger doesn't change its stripes, advanced english, conversation, listening practice

Id: BUw-EAmj-uo

Length: 12min 14sec (734 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 16 2020